人 (rén) is a Chinese character meaning “person”. It is written from 丿 (left-falling stroke) and 乀 (right-falling stroke), side by side, and takes 2 strokes.
Build the character for “person”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
丿 + 乀
Left–right structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (撇、捺)
Memory aid
A left-falling stroke (丿) and a right-falling stroke (乀) spread apart like a person standing on two legs.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
2 strokes
In real words
- 工人gōng rénworker人 = rén
- 人口rén kǒupopulation人 = rén
- 个人gè rénindividual; personal人 = rén
- 主人zhǔ rénhost; owner; master人 = rén
- 人云亦云rén yún yì yúnto repeat whatever others say; to parrot others人 = rén
- 人伦rén lúnhuman relationships; the moral order between people人 = rén
- 人才rén cáitalented person人 = rén
- 人权rén quánhuman rights人 = rén
- 人民rén mínthe people人 = rén
- 人民币rén mín bìrenminbi (RMB), the currency of China人 = rén
- 仆人pú rénservant人 = rén
- 仇人chóu rénpersonal enemy; foe人 = rén
- 令人lìng rénto make someone (feel something)人 = rén
- 众人zhòng réneverybody; the crowd人 = rén
- 佣人yōng rénservant; domestic helper人 = rén
- 军人jūn rénsoldier; serviceman; member of the armed forces人 = rén
- 别人bié rénother people; others人 = rénHSK 2
- 华人huá rénethnic Chinese person人 = rén
- 吾人wú rénwe; I (literary)人 = rén
- 呛人qiàng rénacrid; irritating to breathe in人 = rén
- 咄咄逼人duō duō bī rénaggressive; overbearing; pushing people hard with words人 = rén
- 圣人shèng rénsage; saint人 = rén
- 坏人huài rénbad person; villain人 = rénHSK 3
- 夫人fū rénmadam; lady; wife (polite)人 = rén
- 女人nǚ rénwoman人 = rénHSK 1
- 好人hǎo réna good person人 = rén
- 巨人jù réngiant人 = rén
- 成人chéng rénadult; grown-up人 = rén
- 有人yǒu rénthere is someone; somebody; someone is there人 = rén
- 沁人心脾qìn rén xīn pírefreshing; (of a scent, breeze or music) soaking straight into you人 = rén
- 男人nán rénman; adult male人 = rén
- 私人sī rénprivate; personal人 = rén
- 穷人qióng rénpoor person; the poor人 = rén
- 老人lǎo rénan old person; the elderly人 = rén
- 行人xíng rénpedestrian; a person walking on the road人 = rén
- 贤人xián réna person of virtue and talent; a sage人 = rén
- 人参rén shēnginseng人 = rén
- 人尽皆知rén jìn jiē zhīknown to everyone; common knowledge人 = rén
- 人类rén lèihumankind; humanity; the human race人 = rén
- 唬人hǔ rénto bluff; to scare people人 = rén
- 商人shāng rénmerchant; businessman人 = rén
- 客人kè rénguest; visitor人 = rén
- 怡人yí rénpleasant; delightful人 = rén
- 恋人liàn rénsweetheart; lover人 = rén
- 恩人ēn rénbenefactor; someone who has done you a great kindness人 = rén
- 敌人dí rénenemy; foe人 = rén
- 某人mǒu réna certain person; someone人 = rén
- 猎人liè rénhunter人 = rén
- 病人bìng rénpatient; sick person人 = rén
- 盲人máng réna blind person人 = rén
- 诗人shī rénpoet人 = rén
- 迷人mí réncharming; fascinating; enchanting人 = rén
- 陌生人mò shēng rénstranger人 = rénHSK 4
- 骂人mà rénto call people names; to swear at someone人 = rén
- 骇人听闻hài rén tīng wénshocking; appalling (literally: to shock those who hear of it)人 = rén
Go deeper
All readings
person
person; human being; people
人类的一员；也可泛指人们。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 工人gōng rénworker人 = rén
- 人口rén kǒupopulation人 = rén
- 个人gè rénindividual; personal人 = rén
- 主人zhǔ rénhost; owner; master人 = rén
- 人云亦云rén yún yì yúnto repeat whatever others say; to parrot others人 = rén
- 人伦rén lúnhuman relationships; the moral order between people人 = rén
- 人才rén cáitalented person人 = rén
- 人权rén quánhuman rights人 = rén
- 人民rén mínthe people人 = rén
- 人民币rén mín bìrenminbi (RMB), the currency of China人 = rén
- 仆人pú rénservant人 = rén
- 仇人chóu rénpersonal enemy; foe人 = rén
- 令人lìng rénto make someone (feel something)人 = rén
- 众人zhòng réneverybody; the crowd人 = rén
- 佣人yōng rénservant; domestic helper人 = rén
- 军人jūn rénsoldier; serviceman; member of the armed forces人 = rén
- 别人bié rénother people; others人 = rénHSK 2
- 华人huá rénethnic Chinese person人 = rén
- 吾人wú rénwe; I (literary)人 = rén
- 呛人qiàng rénacrid; irritating to breathe in人 = rén
- 咄咄逼人duō duō bī rénaggressive; overbearing; pushing people hard with words人 = rén
- 圣人shèng rénsage; saint人 = rén
- 坏人huài rénbad person; villain人 = rénHSK 3
- 夫人fū rénmadam; lady; wife (polite)人 = rén
- 女人nǚ rénwoman人 = rénHSK 1
- 好人hǎo réna good person人 = rén
- 巨人jù réngiant人 = rén
- 成人chéng rénadult; grown-up人 = rén
- 有人yǒu rénthere is someone; somebody; someone is there人 = rén
- 沁人心脾qìn rén xīn pírefreshing; (of a scent, breeze or music) soaking straight into you人 = rén
- 男人nán rénman; adult male人 = rén
- 私人sī rénprivate; personal人 = rén
- 穷人qióng rénpoor person; the poor人 = rén
- 老人lǎo rénan old person; the elderly人 = rén
- 行人xíng rénpedestrian; a person walking on the road人 = rén
- 贤人xián réna person of virtue and talent; a sage人 = rén
- 人参rén shēnginseng人 = rén
- 人尽皆知rén jìn jiē zhīknown to everyone; common knowledge人 = rén
- 人类rén lèihumankind; humanity; the human race人 = rén
- 唬人hǔ rénto bluff; to scare people人 = rén
- 商人shāng rénmerchant; businessman人 = rén
- 客人kè rénguest; visitor人 = rén
- 怡人yí rénpleasant; delightful人 = rén
- 恋人liàn rénsweetheart; lover人 = rén
- 恩人ēn rénbenefactor; someone who has done you a great kindness人 = rén
- 敌人dí rénenemy; foe人 = rén
- 某人mǒu réna certain person; someone人 = rén
- 猎人liè rénhunter人 = rén
- 病人bìng rénpatient; sick person人 = rén
- 盲人máng réna blind person人 = rén
- 诗人shī rénpoet人 = rén
- 迷人mí réncharming; fascinating; enchanting人 = rén
- 陌生人mò shēng rénstranger人 = rénHSK 4
- 骂人mà rénto call people names; to swear at someone人 = rén
- 骇人听闻hài rén tīng wénshocking; appalling (literally: to shock those who hear of it)人 = rén
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 人 mean?
人 (rén) means person; human being; people.
How do you pronounce 人?
It is pronounced rén.
What parts is 人 made of?
丿 (left-falling stroke) and 乀 (right-falling stroke), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (撇、捺). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 人 have?
2. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 人?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 人?
Common ones are 工人 and 人口. The reading of 人 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.